


Still Possible

by icandrawamoth



Series: Fic Advent 2017 [12]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Advent Calendar, Advent Challenge, Advent Challenge 2017, Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Hope, Light Angst, New Years, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Star Wars: The Last Jedi Spoilers, could be shippy if you like
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 10:15:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13051965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icandrawamoth/pseuds/icandrawamoth
Summary: After the events of The Last Jedi, Rey and Finn help Poe look to the future.





	Still Possible

**Author's Note:**

> For Advent Calendar bingo prompt "ghosts." Title from [this poem](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/54327/to-the-new-year).

Finn refuses to leave Rose's side, so Rey and Poe end up taking positions beside him, the three of them leaning against the bunk together as the Falcon flies through hyperspace. Around them, the bustling of the few remaining Resistance members dies down as the wounded are treated and others, exhausted from battle and grief, find spaces of floor to curl up and rest.

The three of them know that's what they should be doing, too, but they can't manage it. Adrenaline is still high, loss pulling at their hearts. Poe glances at his wrist chrono to check how long they have until they reach their destination, and lets out a soft sound of surprise.

“What is it?” Rey asks, concern in her voice.

“New Year,” Poe mutters, tilting the display to show her. He laughs, soft and incredulous and raw. “We were all so busy with...everything, we didn't even notice.” He squeezes his eyes closed for a long moment. The start of a new year – usually a time of excitement and celebration, and now look at them.

“It's kind of appropriate, isn't it?” she says gently. “After all this, the Resistance is getting a new start in a way.”

“It's not like we have a choice.” He opens his eyes, stares across the cabin, but all he can see is an endless sea of faces in his mind, faces he's never going to see again. “We start over and keep going or everything ends. And that's not a choice at all.”

“Of course not.” It's Finn's voice, followed by the warm pressure of him taking Poe's hand. “But we still have each other, and we still have hope, right? I mean, we have a Jedi, and the best pilot in the Resistance, not to mention all these other hard-working people ready to do what they have to.”

“Can one Jedi and one pilot really make a difference?”

Rey's voice is soft when she says, “Luke did, back in the day, with Palpatine and Vader. And pilots took down both Death Stars. You were there at Starkiller, Poe.”

“I wasn't alone. My squadrons-”

Finn squeezes his hand again. “We'll find them,” he promises, and Poe forces himself to breathe steadily. Jess and Snap and the rest of the survivors are out there in the galaxy somewhere, separated from the rest and out of contact since the evacuation, but he has to believe they're alive.

Poe makes himself nod, tries for just a moment to dismiss the lists he's been making in the back of his mind, possible squadron line-ups with the pilots he _knows_ are still with them, those on this ship right now. Ones that assume the worst and don't include his missing friends.

Then Rey is taking his other hand, warmth on either side of him, and it buoys him more than he can say. “We have hope,” she repeats, fierce and wonderful. “So many people have sacrificed to get us here, and we're still fighting. We'll keep on fighting. Into this year, and beyond if we have to.”

Poe finally manages a small smile. He _will_ keep on fighting. It's all he knows how to do. He squeezes back, touch linking the three of them together, Rose at their backs, and reminds himself that, despite everything, he's not alone.


End file.
